Article Guidelines
F1000Research publishes a number of different articles types. We aim to make it easy for authors and, where possible, offer some flexibility in terms of formats and structure. Specific requirements do apply to some article types, however; please choose from the article type-specific instructions listed below. Please note that Editorials and F1000 Faculty Reviews are by invitation only and guidelines are provided by the F1000Research team.
Please review the details of F1000Research’s post-publication peer-review model and our policies before you submit.
Articles can be submitted as Word (DOC or DOCX) or rich text format (RTF) files only, we do not accept PDF, ZIP or TeX files. LaTeX users can submit via Overleaf, using an F1000Research journal article template or a software tool article template.
Research Articles
Research Articles should present original findings in biology and medicine, such as results of basic and translational research, clinical and epidemiologic studies, or clinical trials. Null and negative findings and reanalyses of previous studies leading to new results, as well as confirmatory results, are also encouraged.
Method Articles
Method Articles describe a new experimental or computational method, test or procedure (basic science or clinical), and should have been well tested. This includes new study methods, substantive modifications to existing methods or innovative applications of existing methods to new models or scientific questions. We welcome technical articles that describe tools that facilitate the design or performance of experiments, provide data analysis features or assist medical treatment such as drug delivery devices.
Study Protocols
We welcome protocols for any study design, including epidemiological studies and systematic reviews. All protocols for randomised clinical trials must be registered and follow the SPIRIT guidelines. Study pre-protocols (i.e. discussing provisional study designs) may also be submitted and will be clearly labelled as such when published. Study Protocols for pilot and feasibility studies may also be considered.
Reviews
Reviews should provide a balanced and comprehensive overview of the latest discoveries in a particular field.
Note that F1000 Faculty Reviews are by invitation only.
Systematic Reviews
Systematic Reviews should usually be based on medical interventions or animal model studies. Systematic Reviews should deal with a clearly formulated question and use systematic and explicit methods to identify, select, and critically assess the relevant research.
Software Tool Articles
A Software Tool Article should include the rationale for the development of the tool and details of the code used for its construction. The article should provide examples of suitable input data sets and include an example of the output that can be expected from the tool and how this output should be interpreted.
Clinical Practice Articles
Clinical Practice Articles describe case series (i.e. group or series of case reports involving patients who were given similar treatment), but should not be based on a single case (single cases are published as Case Reports).
Opinion Articles
Opinion Articles give the authors’ perspective on a topical issue. Where appropriate, authors should provide a balanced view of different opinions in the field, and make it clear where they are expressing their own personal views and why.
Research Notes
Research Notes include single-finding papers that can be reported with one or two illustrations (figures/tables), descriptions of unexpected observations, and lab protocols. Posters from conferences or internal meetings may be summarized as Research Notes. In many cases, some additional detail, particularly in the methods, description of the results, and/or discussion/conclusions will be required to make sure that readers (and referees) have enough information to understand the description of the work.
Antibody Validation Articles
Antibody Validation Articles report the reliability and reproducibility of antibodies in scientific research, including assessments of new antibodies, new applications for existing antibodies, more thorough validations of previously tested antibodies, replication studies that confirm or disagree with previously published validations, and more.
Data Notes
Data Notes are brief descriptions of scientific datasets that promote the potential reuse of research data and include details of why and how the data were created; they do not include any analyses or conclusions.
Case Reports
A medical Case Report should be original and provide adequate detail of a single patient case. It does not need to describe an especially novel or unusual case as there is benefit from collecting details of many standard cases.
Correspondence
Correspondence articles are short, peer reviewed comments directly relating to one or more articles published in F1000Research or elsewhere. Correspondence articles must provide scholarly discussion, supported by evidence from the published literature.
Editorials
Editorials are short personal perspectives about topics relevant to F1000Research’s aims and its gateways. They are usually commissioned from authors closely associated with F1000Research, e.g. Gateway Advisors.
Registered Reports
Registered Reports are a form of empirical article in which the methods and proposed analyses are published and reviewed prior to research being conducted. This format of article seeks to neutralise a variety of inappropriate research practices, including inadequate statistical power, and selective reporting of results.